The Shield

[NotJayTabb]

Three guys who were pretty much linked together in GWE 2016, but have embarked on solo careers that have taken them in different directions since then. 

[Dav'oh]

Seth Rollins absolutely has all the tools needed to be an all-timer, except between the ears. He's been the most disappointing.

Moxley has found himself and whilst the worst worker of the three, as the most charismatic he will probably be remembered most fondly.

Roman's the hardest to finger (ahem). He's at his most memorable with others around him (Shield, Bloodline/Heyman) but he's got the matches the other two don't. I'm curious as to how often they switch him between face and heel over the coming years.

I'm going Mox, for getting as far as he has without the natural abilities Seth and Roman were born with. He's made more out of less.

[MoS]

It's close between Mox and Roman for me, but Mox has more natural charisma and I like the aura he has especially outside WWE. He has a wilder, more imposing presence for me despite not being physically as big and muscular, and I like his high-end match more than I like Roman's, although Roman has had more of them. He has mostly been doing nothing since losing the world title, but I am looking forward to his coming heel run. 

I disagree that Rollins has all the tools needed to be an all-timer, although I guess it depends on exactly what you would define as "between the ears" in this context. He has some really cool moves, but he doesn't have the skill to effectively structure them into a cogent, sensible match. Even with his moves, he repeats a lot of them and uses them in weird spots, like an amazing spectacular dive to begin his heat section. He really was at his best in a stable like the Shield, where everything he did automatically had a purpose because of the team and the larger structure in place. If by tools you mean athleticism and balance and a good look and body, I would agree. Although his voice is so nasal and annoying, he can just never be a long-term face, so there's that.

[kas]

I'm a lot higher on Seth than others here but I'd still put him at the bottom of the 3. As Dav'oh says, has all the tools but can't put it together. It doesn't help him that his best matches lack variety and that he favours a style that is significantly neutered in WWE, but when I compare it to Roman and Moxley's output it's not even close. Great TV worker though.

As for Roman vs Mox, I'd confidently go Mox. I think Roman's big matches are slightly better, but he doesn't have the nearly volume that Moxley has.

[NotJayTabb]

Interesting to note the swing currently since 2016. In the master list, Reigns finished #416, Ambrose #275 and Rollins way in front at #207. Feels like it could be a complete swing around this time, a damning indictment on Rollins' post-Shield career.

I voted for Reigns, I think he's proven himself to be a great main event worker, and he's the one I most enjoy watching. I also think he's the only one who's kept improving since the last GWE. The last time I really liked Ambrose was 2014 (there's a match he has with Mark Henry in that time frame on Main Event that's really excellent), but "Lunatic Fringe" era Ambrose was pretty blah for the most part. Even in AEW, where he's been let off the leash, he feel like an unconvincing tough guy, though the only PPV match I've seen from him was the unsanctioned match with Omega that I thought sucked, so he might have some decent big match stuff I've not seen. Rollins is a very distant 3rd.

[joeg]

I picked Roman. I think Mox has more carisma and is a better promo than Roman, but Roman is just the better worker. Mox seems to be more creative and more will to take creative risks, but it doesn't always work out. Its not just that there are so many more high end Roman matches, but the average run of the mill Roman match blows the average Mox match out of the water. Mox frequently has matches that miss the mark and just don't make a lot of sense. Rollins is facinating to me. Back 12-15 years ago, I saw him and thought wow with the way he moves and his creativity, he's going to be really good when he learns to slow down and make things mean more. Its 15 years later, he's been on national TV for a decade almost, and he still hasn't figured out how to slow things down and make it mean something. 

[MoS]

2 hours ago, NotJayTabb said:

I voted for Reigns, I think he's proven himself to be a great main event worker, and he's the one I most enjoy watching. I also think he's the only one who's kept improving since the last GWE. The last time I really liked Ambrose was 2014 (there's a match he has with Mark Henry in that time frame on Main Event that's really excellent), but "Lunatic Fringe" era Ambrose was pretty blah for the most part. Even in AEW, where he's been let off the leash, he feel like an unconvincing tough guy, though the only PPV match I've seen from him was the unsanctioned match with Omega that I thought sucked, so he might have some decent big match stuff I've not seen. 

Not sure if you have checked out his NJPW run, but if not, I would recommend the Lance Archer Texas Death Match from WrestleKingdom 2020 , the first Suzuki match, and his G1 run in 2019. For PPV, I liked the Kingston and Brodie Lee PPV matches. I also really enjoyed his TV match with Brian Cage, who I find very hit and miss in the ring, and his TV Darby matches. His Bloodsport work isn't always good, but when it's good, it's really good. 

I do think that part of what makes me prefer Mox is his charisma and promo ability, which is not part of the GWE criteria (for me at least) unless they are incorporated effectively into matches. I'll have to go back and rewatch his matches to get a sense of how much my enjoyment was due to out-of-the-ring elements, and how much of that is due to his actual work in the matches, i.e. whether he incorporates his charisma and personality in his matches effectively. 

[Tetsujin]

I like them all, but right now is close between Moxley and Reigns. If we only talking about Shield run, Ambrose was the one shinning the most I would say. Reigns' singles run between 2014-19 was better than Ambrose's, but his post-WWE stuff as a reborn Jon Moxley, specially his 2019 New Japan run, is absolutely amazing. You can add his FCW stuff and some highlights from EVOLVE or DGUSA and he has a pretty strong career overall. While Roman has been more consistent from a ringwork perspective, Ambrose/Mox always managed to be an interesting character to the audience, always over with crowds. He's also the most versatile guy of the trio.

When it comes to Rollins, I think the guy is so overrated by many people that he actually has become a lot more underrated by some other people. He's always been solid: has some highlights in ROH and FCW, his Shield run is great, and his singles run is a mixed bag but I don't think you can't deny some of his best work like the Ambrose ladder match, the Lesnar SummerSlam match, the Styles match, the Edge matches, the Cesaro WM match... And he's quite different in all of them, from a character perspective. He never learned to chill the fuck out when necesary, true, but it doesn't bother me as much as other spotty guys, because at least Rollins works in a way that doesn't scream "HEY LOOK AT ME" like, idk, the Bucks or Omega or post-2018 Gargano. He's just athletic as fuck and is gonna take advantage of that while wrestling.

I'm gonna go with Mox. Better character work, most versatile and overall the most charismatic of the three.

[MoS]

Do we have an example of Rollins carrying an inferior worker to a good to great match? I think Moxley did that with Brian Cage and managed to drag something decent out of Jake Hager in an empty arena match. Roman I think has had very good matches with Baron Corbin and Edge. Are there similar Rollins matches in the same category? I am not being facetious; it's a genuine question. 

[Reel]

14 minutes ago, MoS said:

Do we have an example of Rollins carrying an inferior worker to a good to great match? I think Moxley did that with Brian Cage and managed to drag something decent out of Jake Hager in an empty arena match. Roman I think has had very good matches with Baron Corbin and Edge. Are there similar Rollins matches in the same category? I am not being facetious; it's a genuine question. 

The best example for Seth is the Dominick match because as of yet, Dom hasn't shown all that much to my eye, and the match with Seth at SummerSlam was good.

Roman also had a good match with Bray on an episode of Raw in 2018, one of the handful of decent Bray singles matches.

As for this whole topic, I'd say Roman in a walk. He's a better TV worker than the other 2, a better main event worker, probably the best in trios of all 3, although that's more up for debate in my mind. I think I'd have Seth at 2, mostly because I think Mox is just kind of bad. He's one of my least favorite wrestlers currently, just a parody of all my least favorite things: consensual elbows to the trap mixed in with funny faces and some of the worst MMA rip off spots I've ever seen.

[MoS]

Forgot about Roman-Wyatt (not complaining though), that is also another good example. 

I should check out Rollins-Dominick.